Why McCain Visits Burma Now?

By Nehginpao Kipgen *

state.gov

John McCain, a U.S. senator from Arizona, has been one of the fiercest critics of the Burmese military junta, while lending unwavering support to Aung San Suu Kyi-led democracy movement. Why is a man who once called the Burmese military generals "thugs" have decided to visit Burma now? Perhaps equally surprising is that why did the Burmese government issue him visa?

This week's visit comes at a time when both the United States and the Burmese government are interested in improving bilateral ties between the two nations. The visit is more so important for the Burmese government than the senator's own agenda.

Although he is not an official envoy from the U.S. government, the nature of his important role in imposing sanctions on the Burmese government and his influential status in the U.S. senate makes the visit a significant one.

The high-profile visit also comes at a time when Burma has once again captured headlines in international media. The country's request for the 2014 chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, two high-profile visits from the U.N. secretary general's special envoy Vijay Nambiar and U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state Joseph Yun, and the visit to China by the Burmese president Thein Sein, all happened in May, have drawn the attention of the international community.

Senator McCain has two primary objectives in his trip to Burma: assessing the ground reality of political developments in Burma after the 2010 election and listening to Aung San Suu Kyi's view on the U.S. policy toward Burma. McCain in his July 2009 senate floor statement said, "I once had the great honor of meeting Aung San Suu Kyi. She is a woman of astonishing courage and incredible resolve."

The 2008 presidential candidate presumably has no high expectation of making a great stride in this trip. By meeting Suu Kyi, he wants to reiterate his admiration for her courage and dedication for the cause of democracy, and convey the U.S. strong support for democracy and human rights.

With the formation of a new Burmese government, McCain plans to assess the ground reality of political developments inside the country. In doing so, he is expected to meet representatives from the government, which is dominated by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Since there are over 2,000 political prisoners still languishing in different prisons across Burma, McCain is likely to push for their release and the implementation of more democratic reforms before the U.S. can consider lifting sanctions, the issue raised by deputy assistant secretary of state Joseph Yun in his May 18-20 trip.

On the other hand, the Burmese government wants to take this opportunity to show the U.S. government that it has made progress in democratic reforms. The new Burmese government, dominated by former military generals in civilian clothes, wants to demonstrate its claim to the international community. This is an important reason why McCain was issued visa in the first place.

Indeed, the government has something positive to present to the visiting senator and other critics. President Thein Sein recently reduced all prison sentences by one year and commuted the death penalty to life imprisonment. Thousands of prisoners were released, although only a small number of political prisoners were among the freed.

Naypyidaw will argue that it has successfully conducted the first countrywide general election in two decades and has released thousands of prisoners. It will reiterate its demand for the U.S. government to lift sanctions which the Burmese government considers as the greatest hindrance for improving bilateral relationship.

It has to be noted that the United States has a leverage to help genuine democratic transition in Burma for two important reasons. First is because of the U.S. unparalleled economic and military power and its pioneering role in championing democracy and human rights. Second is because of the widely acceptance of the U.S. engagement policy by the Burmese people.

The senator's visit should be viewed as a positive development. The U.S. government needs to continue its diplomatic pressure for genuine democratic reforms and protection and promotion of human rights. One effective way of engagement for the senator is to urge his colleagues to confirm the nomination of Derek Mitchell as a U.S. special envoy for Burma.

The then-president Bush nominated Michael J. Green as U.S. special envoy for Burma in late 2008, which was never confirmed by the senate. Senator McCain and his senate colleagues should not let president Obama's nomination slip away. The special envoy, with an ambassador rank, can work more effectively than some occasional visits.

Burma decades-old problem is not entirely a question of democracy. The root cause is about denying rights to ethnic minority groups. In the process of engaging Burma, the U.S. government, either democratic or republican party, should involve more representatives and experts from ethnic minorities.

After all, the Burmese people themselves best understand the political psychology of the Burmese military generals. Burmese native scholars should be consulted equally, if not more than the Western scholars, in formulating effective U.S. political strategy. The Burmese scholars have the advantage of in-depth empirical knowledge besides theoretical, which the Western scholars often lack.

The article was first published in the at: Korea Times newspaper

Nehginpao Kipgen

* Nehginpao Kipgen is a researcher on the rise of political conflicts in modern Burma (1947-2004) and general secretary of the U.S.-based Kuki International Forum (www.kukiforum.com). He has written numerous analytical articles on the politics of Burma and Asia that have been widely published in five continents (Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, and North America). He currently pursues a Ph.D. in Political Science at Northern Illinois University.
He can be contacted at nkipgen(at)niu(dot)edu . This article was webcasted on June 03, 2011 .